Tubular-magazine firearm.



No. 816,015. PATENTED MAR. 27, 1906. T. O. JOHNSON. TUBULAR MAGAZINE FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED 001224, 1904.

f I 1 I r v I 1 I a v v 1 I a I r r I F UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS 00., OF NEW HAVEN, -CONNECTI- CUT, A CORPORATION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 27', 1906.

Application filed October 24, 1904. Serial No. 229,881.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. J OHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tubular-Magazine Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the numerals of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a broken view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, of the forward part of one form which a gun con structed in accordance with my invention may assume; Fig. 2, a view in front elevation of the tubular magazine of the gun, the barrel being shown in section; Fig. 3, a

1 broken sectional view through the forward end of the magazine and fore-arm on the line a b of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a view in inside elevation of the take-down flange at the forward end of the magazine, which is shown in section My invention relates to an improvement in tubular-magazine firearms, the object being to provide a simple, compact, and eifective yielding lock for preventing the magazine from jarring loose in firing the gun.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the combination,with the fore-arm of a firearm, of a tubular magazine passing through the said fore-arm, and a yielding lock mounted in the forward end of the fore-arm and coacting with the forward end of the magazine to prevent the same from jarring loose in firing the gun, but yielding to permit the magazine to be screwed into the gunframe or unscrewed therefrom.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown I form a circular series of shallow locking-notches 2 in the outer edge of the rear face of a take-down flange 3, formed, as shown, integral with the outer end of the tubular magazine 4, but in any event solid therewith. The said locking-notches 2 receive the rounded forward end of a frictionpin 5, mounted in a bushing 6, having its forward end externally threaded for being screwed into a chamber or socket 7, formed in the upper portion of the forward end of the fore-arm 8, through which the magazine 4 passes. The said pin has an enlarged base 9 resting upon a coiled spring 10, located within the bushing 6 and exerting a constant effort to force the rounded end of the pin 5 into one of the locking-notches 2 in the said takedown flange 3. The base 9 of the pin forms a shoulder 11, engaging with a corresponding shoulder 12 in the bushing 6, whereby the outward movement of the pin is limited. The pressure of the spring 10 upon the pin is sufficient to seat the same in one of the lockingnotches 2 with suflicient force to cause the pin to lock the magazine against being jarred loose and rotated in firing the gun; but the said spring is not strong enough to prevent the magazine from being turned in one direction or the other by means of its take-down flange for screwing its threaded rear end into or out of the gun-frame 1 3. To adapt the take-down flange 3 to be firmly grasped for turning the magazine in one direction or the other, its periphery is formed, as herein shown, with transverse grooves 14; but its peripheral surface may of course be roughened in any other way.

As herein shown, my improvement is applied to an interchangeable-barrel tubularmagazine automatic firearm of the character shown and described in my Patent No.

769,089, issued Au ust 30, 1904, and to that patent I hereby re er. Under the invention of that patent the threads 15 at the rear end of the magazine will be cut or pitched so that the magazine may be unscrewed by hand without the use of tools, so as to permit the magazine to be pulled forward out of the ring-like barrel-stop 16 depending from the recoiling barrel 17, the threads 18 at the rear end of which are cut and pitched so that the barrel may then be unscrewed from the barrel extension 19 without the use of tools, all as explained in the patent referred to.

As shown, the magazine is made with a stop-shoulder 20, forming a seat for a bufler consisting of two rings 21 of vulcanized fiber, the rear edge of the ring being abutted against by the forward edge of the ring-like barrel-stop 16; but I do not limit my yielding magazine-lock to use in an interchangeablebarrel automatic firearm. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown, but hold myself at liberty to make such departures therefrom as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a tubular-magazine firearm, the com bination with the fore-arm thereof, of a tubular magazine passing through the said forearm, and a yielding magazine-lock mounted in the forward end of the said fore-arm and coacting with the forward end'of the magazine to prevent the same from jarring loose when firing the gun but yielding to permit the magazine to be screwed into the gun-frame or unscrewed therefrom.

2. In a tubular-magazine firearm, the combination with the fore-arm thereof, of a tubular magazine provided at its forward end with a fixed take down flange, and a yielding magazine-lock mounted in the forward end of the said fore-arm and coacting with the said take-down flange to hold the magazine from jarring loose in firing the gun but yielding to permit the magazine to be screwed into the gun-frame or unscrewed therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, WM. J. DIGNAN. 

